St. Patrick’s Day Wishes from a real Irish Lass!
Posted by Jackie Ewing on March 17, 2010
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Making the of Most Teleseminars & Webinars
Posted by Jackie Ewing on March 12, 2010
Jackie T. Ewing listening and learning
I think it’s fair to say that social media has become a very big part of my life. There’s so much to learn and so many ways to learn that I sometimes wonder if I’m the only one out there struggling to keep up! But, as I tweet and communicate on Facebook, I realize that, indeed, I am NOT alone! So as I sift through the ton of information at my fingertips, let me share what I’ve learned and perhaps it will assist some other poor souls.
Telesminars & Webinars
There are so many tools out there to help us do things better, faster and more efficiently. How do we figure out which ones are best for us as individuals? I know I’ve slogged my way through umpteen different kinds to get to the ones that I like to use; the ones that do save me time and help me accomplish what I need to do. This particular post is about my safari through the world of Teleseminars and Webinars and what I’ve gleaned from my travels!
About the middle of last year (2009) I began to subscribe to webinars and teleseminars on various social media topics hosted by a variety of folks that had caught my interest by tweeting, facebooking or via referrals from others in my network. To say that I sat through a few of them is a mild understatement! I sat through many and wondered “why on EARTH am I doing this?”, and then went and sat through many more and got such a TON of great information that I subscribed to even more! At some point I realized that I was in constant search of the “newest, greatest” thing and wasn’t actually doing anything with the last “newest, greatest” thing I had learned.
Teleseminars are used to provide information, training, or promote or sell products to group of people interested in a particular topic. They are similar to traditional seminars, in content and purpose, but they are given over a teleconference or bridgeline rather than at a specific location. (Wikipedia)
So I managed to wean myself off of doing too many of them and I have gone back through the information that I have learned; highlighted what I wanted to implement; implemented what I had highlighted and then gone through it again to find the nuggets that I had missed the first time around. Actually, if I admit it, I didn’t understand a lot of what I had heard and seen the first time around and it simply washed over me. Months later, when I had finally twigged to a lot of what social media was about and how people were using it successfully, I went back and found the good stuff that I could actually now use!
Web conferencing is used to conduct live meetings, training, or presentations via the Internet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet. This can be either a downloaded application on each of the attendees’ computers or a web-based application where the attendees access the meeting by clicking on a link distributed by e-mail (meeting invitation) to enter the conference.
A webinar is a neologism to describe a specific type of web conference. It is typically one-way,[1] from the speaker to the audience with limited audience interaction, such as in a webcast. (Wikipedia)
In hindsight, I can safely say that it was probably a good thing that I went a little overboard with these tools. Not only because I learned how to participate and connect with others while on the webinar or teleseminaar, but because I also learned how to listen a lot better than I used to. Being Irish, I do tend more toward talking than listening and not really subcrsibing to the idea that we have two ears and one mouth for a very good reason!
Multi-tasking
Taking part in a really good webinar or teleseminar also made me stop trying to multitask ALL the time. To really get some great information from these tools you MUST pay attention and take copious notes. Not to do so is a waste of your time and money, if you had to pay to participate. There are some fabulous webinars and teleseminars that do not cost anything to participate. Do yourself a favor and find some good ones and sign up.
Recommendations
There are many to choose from. Pick those that supplement your specialty and try ta few of them. I have discovered that the Tuesday afternoon webinars with ISMA (International Social Media Association) are a fantastic source for not only social media topics but also general business practices. I have it down to a science now where I call in while car-pooling to the high school. This way I get to listen in and learn a LOT!
IS customer service dead?
Customer service is a hot topic with me and I’m always looking for new input and insights in to what others think makes customers tick – and more importantly, buy and come back to buy repeatedly. Check out Sydney Barrows website for teleseminars on creating great customer experiences.
For hot tips and tricks for internet marketing and social media I find Matt Bacak‘s webinars packed full of good stuff.
So, get online and find out who is offering teleseminars and webinars that cover your niche. Participate, learn and implement and you too can make the most of these tools.
I’m interested to hear about any websites or folks offering teleseminars and webinars that you have tried and recommend. Leave comments below with a link to the resource so that others may also benefit.
